17 Creative Ways To Use Up Leftover Chinese Takeout

"You know what I'm craving right now? Chinese takeout." It's a line we've said more often than we'd like to admit, including on days when grocery shopping and cooking seem like too much of a mental task, we're working late, or the hankering for beef and broccoli just won't quit. It seems like every time we place that order for takeout Chinese, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. How is anyone supposed to choose just one entree? 

The effect of this, more often than not, is a fridge packed to the brim with takeaway cartons. While nothing beats Chinese the morning after an inebriated rendezvous, those leftovers may look less appealing as time goes on — until now. We came up with a list of some of the most creative ways to give those Chinese leftovers a second chance at life and to give you even more ways to enjoy them.

For the sake of food safety, be sure to transfer any leftovers to resealable containers after you're done. Don't eat them if they have been left out at room temperature for more than two hours. That way, you can enjoy your leftovers within three to four days — which you should have no problem doing after checking out these tips.

One of the easiest ways to use up your leftover Chinese takeout is to find opportunities to create fusion dishes. For one, many takeout favorites — including fried rice and stir-fries — can be added to a soft flour tortilla to make a flavorful, simple, and handheld lunch. If you're looking to flavor your burrito with classic Tex-Mex ingredients, stick to just using fried rice or white rice. Fried rice is flavorful, a tad greasy, and often has veggies and meat that will add heft to your wrap. Tuck your favorite breakfast burrito ingredients, including eggs, cheese, and ham, with some pork fried rice, or pair seasoned chicken, fajita veggies, and even beans with a simple veggie fried rice. You can also load it up with all of your favorite burrito toppings and fillings, including the likes of sour cream, guacamole, and a fresh salsa or sauce.

That being said, you can also fully embrace your leftovers and add entrees like General Tso's chicken, beef and broccoli, and garlic shrimp to your burrito. Just make sure your fillings are warmed up beforehand — the burrito isn't in the pan long enough to both toast the exterior and bring the fillings up to temperature.

Noodle dishes might sound like an odd addition to a frittata (a crustless quiche), but they are actually quite flavorful and compelling. Frittata di spaghetti is a great way to use up leftover spaghetti noodles, so why can't you do the same for lo mein? Simply add the noodles to the pan with a bit of oil, tossing them so they heat evenly, before adding your egg mixture and cooking it briefly on the stove. If your lo mein isn't veggie-heavy, consider supplementing it with your own. After a short trip in the oven to brown the edges and cook the center, your leftovers-inspired frittata will be good to go. 

We recommend making this recipe in a seasoned cast iron skillet because the frittata won't stick to the edges (provided it is cooked through properly). Besides lo mein, you can also chop up a stir-fry dish and add it to your frittata as well; just make sure to drain off any extra moisture before adding the whisked eggs. 

The best part about ordering from your favorite local Chinese spot isn't the entrees or the leftovers: it's the fortune cookies that come with your order. Sure, you can crack open a couple of them in a single sitting, but they taste pretty bland on their own. Instead, try crumbling them up and adding them as a topping to your dessert. Think of them like sweet croutons; they'll add crunch to everything from ice cream and puddings, and can even be added to the top of a fruit crisp or incorporated into a streusel topping.

We love this use, in particular, because you don't need to have a ton of cookies to try it yourself. The cookie's flavor is versatile, and those prominent egg notes pair especially well with matcha, pistachio, or strawberry ice cream. 

Dumplings are a notoriously difficult Chinese leftover to use. The wonton wrapper can have a very unique and almost sticky texture, which offers a similar sensation to biting through a sausage casing. One option is to scrap the wrapper entirely, keeping only the savory filling. However, this is a hassle — not to mention, wasteful. If you have pan-fried or steamed wontons or dumplings, try adding them whole or chopped to your fried rice instead.

Wontons and dumplings typically have a similar flavor profile to the fried rice — umami, salty, and soy-adjacent. As such, you can give the dumplings new life by popping them in a pan with a bit of water to steam them, closing the lid to trap in the moisture, and then concluding the process with a drizzle of oil. Toss them in your reheated fried rice (pork, chicken, shrimp, or veggie all work) to add texture and enhance the savory flavor.

While we have a soft spot for Chinese leftovers, the one thing we will say is that the texture can get pretty monotonous at times. The chewy, sticky, and fatty chicken or beef may satisfy an immediate craving, but the novelty quickly wears off. One easy way to change up your eating experience is to add your reheated saucy leftovers — like General Tso's chicken, orange chicken, sesame chicken, or even chopped barbecue spare ribs — to a lettuce wrap. The crunchy lettuce will add brightness and life to the heavy sauce while also making it a portable dish that you can eat for lunch or as a snack. 

The best leafy greens for lettuce wraps include Bibb lettuce, which is pliable yet sturdy, and romaine, which has a supportive center rib for particularly heavy entrees. Reheat your leftovers in the microwave or on the stovetop before spooning them into your washed lettuce leaf. If you want to add an extra layer of freshness, consider reaching for the container of cilantro or beansprouts that your takeout meal came with. 

We're always looking for inspiration for creative pizza toppings, whether it's for spicing up store-bought frozen pizza or making a tasty homemade recipe. Leftover Chinese takeout is an interesting, yet fun prospect; it has a very flavorful and saucy coating (plus it's already pre-cooked, which cuts down on prep time), but it needs to be tactfully paired to avoid overwhelming the flavor of the entire dish.

For one, your toppings should all work well on pizza and not be too watery; chicken, beef, broccoli, cauliflower, and shrimp are all great options. Barbecue spare ribs are an excellent choice; chop the slightly sweet meat up into small pieces (so that you can get a little bit in every bite) and pair it with thinly sliced red onions and mozzarella. To promote better flavor cohesion, try swapping out the traditional pizza sauce for an Asian-inspired version flavored with soy, sesame, and a dash of fish sauce. It's important to only add a scant amount of toppings to your pizza, as you don't want it to be so heavy that it doesn't cook correctly. You also don't want it to break when you go to pick up your slice.

Baked potatoes are yet another excellent catch-all for your Chinese food leftovers. The potato base is starchy, yet not strongly flavored, essentially making it a blank canvas for your toppings. If you're using your Chinese takeout as a standalone topping here, feel free to think saucy and flavorful; General Tso's chicken, sesame chicken, and orange chicken are three entrees that come to mind. Char siu, Chinese barbecue pork, is another tasty topping that would add a Cantonese-inspired flair and succulent moisture to this carby side. 

Since the potatoes are already starchy, you don't want to add any Chinese leftovers that are equally carby; find other ways to repurpose your lo mein and fried rice. Once you've spooned on your topping, finish your potato with chopped scallions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for extra texture.

Now is the time to rid your junk drawer of fortune cookies. Sure, making a pie crust out of fortune cookies may require that you have a ton of fortune cookies on hand. However, it's worth squirreling away those plastic-wrapped treats for an occasion like this one.

While you can add fortune cookies to a standard buttery pie crust — made with fat, flour, and water — the better method is to crush the cookies finely, add a little bit of melted butter, press it into a pan, and par-bake the crust until it's set. From there, you can add a cheesecake filling and bake it in a bain-marie for a twist on a classic New York cheesecake. Alternatively, you can go the no-bake route with a peanut butter pie; the slightly sweet fortune cookies are the perfect foil to the decadent chocolate and peanut butter filling. 

Quesadillas and grilled cheeses may not be the first way you consider using up your leftovers, but they are worth considering. The tortilla and the melty cheese don't have all that much flavor, which means your meaty or veggie-forward entrees and their toppings will shine. If you're lost for ideas, start with leftover pepper steak, which typically used a cut like sirloin and pairs it with peppers, onions, and tomatoes. We see a familiar flavor pairing in a cheesesteak, and that delectable pepper sauce will add a hit of ginger, garlic, and sweetness to your cheese. We recommend a mild cheddar or a mozzarella, as you want the sauce and its flavors to be the focal point. 

You could also play off the flavors in the sauce, like with a Kung Pao chicken. This peanut-forward entree meshes well with the salty cheese, as would Mongolian beef with provolone or melty Jack cheese.

You can always reheat your leftovers, but some of the first steps to getting creative is to think about how the temperature of those leftovers impacts their flavor. Eating cold General Tso's or beef and broccoli isn't anything special, but lo mein is one Chinese leftover dish that you may actually want to leave cold.

For one, you can easily repurpose it for a riff on a cold noodle salad, like recipes made with soba (buckwheat noodles). The well-cooked lo mein is already toothsome and soft, and all you need to do is spice it up with produce and protein. Your lo mein may already have ingredients like carrots, red pepper, and onion in it. However, adding a greater diversity of vegetables will give your dish extra fiber and a homemade touch. You may also want to add some extra seasonings, like soy sauce or toasted sesame oil, to tie those flavors together. 

Chicken and broccoli is a popular Chinese food takeout order, though this flavor duo is often included in other cuisines as well. For one, they're popular additions to homemade Alfredo. If you have a jar of Alfredo sauce, cooked noodles, and leftover chicken and broccoli, you can turn them into a tasty, Italian-Chinese fusion dish. The chicken and broccoli are already pre-cooked, which will save you valuable prep time. All you need to do is toss the noodles with the warmed-up Chinese leftovers and add in your Alfredo sauce. 

Two important precautions to note: you may need to drain off some of the chicken and broccoli sauce before mixing it with your Alfredo to avoid a dish that's too wet, and you should be prepared for the flavor of the dish to be a little different than you're used to. The sweet and umami sauce can butt heads with the Alfredo if the ratio is off. You can also add leftover garlic shrimp to your Alfredo, too. 

Alfredo isn't the only Italian-inspired creation that can benefit from a touch of flavor, courtesy of Chinese takeout. Arancini, or rice balls, can easily be made with your leftover fried rice or white rice. These pillowy, fried bites are a great appetizer and are super easy to bring together. The rice is combined with seasonings, eggs, and breadcrumbs before being wrapped around a cheese cube (or some other stuffing), chilled, and fried. 

The best rice balls are made with short-grain rice, which is where the slightly sticky texture of leftover takeout white rice comes in. Fried rice may not hold together the same as white rice, so you may need to tweak your ratio of egg and breadcrumbs to help it keep its shape. You should also use cold rice, as it's easier to mold.

Rice bowls are popular at chains like Chipotle, so why not give your dish an Asian-inspired spin by using flavorful fried rice instead? The rice is slightly oily and packed with proteins, veggies, and seasonings. This means it has a little more to offer your bowl than standard white or brown rice.

The sky is the limit when it comes to topping your fried rice bowl. You can repurpose other leftovers, including chicken, steak, and tofu entrees, to give your bowl extra protein. The key is to utilize ingredients that balance out the heaviness of the fried rice; since it can be greasy, toppings like pickled veggies, bean sprouts, thinly sliced veggies, and cilantro can come in handy. You can also add your own sauce, or whip something up with the leftover sauce packets or containers that came with your takeout order.

Most Chinese takeout restaurants don't have sweet offerings on their menus — aside from fortune cookies. Luckily, you can use your leftover white rice to whip up a sweet pudding treat to enjoy after your meal or on day two. 

Swap butter, sugar, and some of the milk with sweetened condensed milk, or stick with a classic recipe. Simmer the ingredients with the leftover rice until sweet and creamy before adorning your pudding with your favorite toppings. Cinnamon is a classic, but you can also find other spice variations out there, including ones made with maple syrup, cardamom, and more. This simple dessert comes together in no time at all, and it may be the palate cleanser you need after a deeply savory and salty takeout meal. 

Those little crunchy wonton strips that come with your soup are one of the most underrated parts of the takeout meal. They're crispy, thin, and despite being fried in oil, they're usually not very greasy. As such, they make an excellent crunchy garnish for a variety of foods, including those outside of the Chinese takeout realm.

We love adding a handful of them to our salads, kind of like a crouton substitute. They don't keep their crispiness after being coated in dressing, so be sure to add them right before you plan on eating your salad for maximum effect. You can also use them anywhere else you'd normally use croutons, including in wraps (try them with a miso Caesar dressing and grilled chicken for an Asian-inspired riff on the beloved wrap), on top of soups, or — as we prefer — straight from the bag.

Egg dishes and leftover Chinese takeout share something in common: They're both very, very versatile. Why not maximize their versatility by pairing them together? For one, you can do as celebrity chef Ming Tsai did in a TikTok video he shared with his fans: add the leftovers to a pan with a bit of oil to bring them up to temperature before pouring in beaten eggs. He stirs the two together before covering the pan with a lid to cook the eggs through before adding cheese, stirring again, and precariously flipping it onto a plate. If your omelet skills are not up-to-par (we know flipping it is harder than it looks), you can always scramble your leftovers with eggs instead. 

Tsai appears to use a mixed stir fry with meat and veggies in his video. However, this hack can presumably work for an array of leftovers, including lo mein, fried rice, and saucy dishes. 

If leftover fatigue is something you know all too well, it might be high time to rethink your food storage approach entirely. Instead of eating Chinese food for days on end, consider freezing your leftovers so that you can have meals for several weeks. You can use a silicone meal-prep container, freeze small portion sizes (and transfer to a larger freezer bag if needed). When you're ready to eat, just plop them into a skillet (or worse-case scenario, the microwave). 

Some foods do freeze better than others (don't freeze fried egg rolls), and the texture may not be the same on the day you got it. When the craving for Chinese takeout hits, however, it's nice to not have to make the trek to your favorite local spot. That being said, we wouldn't blame you if you did, seeing as there are so many delicious ways to repurpose those leftovers.